She was looking at, I’m guessing, the hinges on our french doors…sorry. “Freedom Doors,” leading into the dining room.

I’ve been trying to imagine what it’s like as she figures stuff out. And it occurred to me, as I was talking with her, that she has no context. For anything.

She knows bottles, mom, dad, diaper change, bath…she’s learning the context for that kind of stuff.

But everything else on the planet? Not a clue.

And it’s not like it was back in the dawn of history. There were no hinges. Murals. Pooh. TV. Internet. LCD displays. Cars. Bottles. Rice cereal. Hip hop. March Madness. Nerf. Carpet. And on and on and on.

It shows what amazing creatures we humans are. And what little sponges our little…sponges are.

“I didn’t realize babies come with hats. You guys crack me up. You don’t have jobs. You can’t walk or speak the language. You don’t have a dollar in your pockets but you got yourselves a hat so everything’s fine. I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but I’m Dad. And for you, son — for you — this will be the last time I pass the buck, but I think it should be clear from the get-go that it was Mom who named you Huckleberry. I guess she was feeling like life doesn’t present enough challenges to overcome on its own. And, honey, you’ve got a name now, too,” he says turning to his daughter.

“Your mom and I named you after an incredibly brave… woman; really not all that much older than you. Your name is Molly. Huck and Molly. So, what do I do? Well, you’re going to need food and clothes and doctors and dentists and there’s that. And should you have any questions along the way…”

The second week of December, I was given the news that my position would no longer be required at Steck-Vaughn, or Harcourt Supplemental Publishers, or Harcourt Achieve! Whatever they are calling themselves this week.

My wife was on maternity leave until the New Year – when she went back to work at Dell, on second shift. That allowed me to have my days free, if I needed them, and be around in the evenings while she was at work.

So I’ve been doing that since the first week of January, and it’s been great. The last few weeks have been particularly rewarding. More on that…later.